plz help quick

Question
QUESTION: i have 2 male rats. they have always been very sweet and loving. 9 days ago i got 2 female rats and i have been slowly introducing the to my boys things were going very well. one of the females became ill. she was chasing her tail and very off balance the vet gave her meds for an ear infection but she did not make it. i went back and got another female but she was much smaller about 6 weeks old and i tried to introduce her to my males. pikie who is usually the more shy attacked the baby female brutally and she was gone in about 20 sec. now peekie has attacked his brother his eve is in bad shape so im taking him to the vet. i dont understand why peekie started to attack all of a sudden he was always more laid back plz help im now worried that he will attack my 8 yr old son he loves his rats but now hes scared of them. i dont want to have to put peekie to sleep they are my babbies. plz help if u can thank you
Christy

ANSWER: Hi Christy


How old are the males?  Are they neutered?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: they are about 3 yrs old no they are not neutered. do i need to separate them

Answer
Your males are going insane because of hormones.  By introducing them to the female rats did nothing but stir up their hormones.  Also, male rats will kill baby rats that are just 6 weeks old.  

On a final note, do you know that these males could get the females pregant?  Female rats can become pregnant as young as 5 weeks old and even though the males are 3 years old, males remain fertile till they die.  

You dont have to put Peekie to sleep.  You need to get the females away from the males and let the boys calm down.  Do not let them together again.  Peekie killed the baby rat because this is natural instinct for a male buck. It was not his fault, it was his nature.

I would keep the females out of the same room as the boys as this is what is upsetting them, esp Peekie.  Keep the two males apart until things calm down with them.  They are old rats and this is the time in their life that they are very sensitive to change and bringing in female baby rats stirred up alot of hormones.   I just hope they did not mate with the young ratlets.